


Take Your Best Shot (and Don't Blow It)

by kumo



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sleepovers, Willful Ignorance, abuse of vending machines, canon level crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3293594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kumo/pseuds/kumo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Of course the girls in their class can’t help but notice how adorable Nagisa is. Rei has trouble not noticing it several times a day.</i>
</p>
<p>In which Rei tries a little too hard not to think about things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take Your Best Shot (and Don't Blow It)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [eyeneversleep](http://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeneversleep/) for the beta <3

Rei doesn’t talk about it.

He doesn’t talk about it, but he thinks about it sometimes.

Mostly he tries not to.

Because it’s weird, a little bit, he thinks. Probably. Besides, it doesn’t seem like anyone else ever thinks anything of it so Rei does his best to pay it no mind.

Still.

 

They are walking down the corridor after lunch, Nagisa hanging off of Rei’s arm and babbling enthusiastically about some movie that is opening this weekend. Rei has already forgotten the name of the movie, having several minutes ago resigned himself to going with Nagisa Saturday afternoon.

They walk by some girls, who whisper and giggle in their direction. Rei is getting used to this reaction, and it’s not surprising. Of course the girls in their class can’t help but notice how adorable Nagisa is. Rei has trouble not noticing it several times a day.

 

The movie is fine, some action packed thing about an explorer and cursed tombs. It’s not really Rei’s type of movie, and he finds he keeps getting distracted by Nagisa’s reactions rather than by the plot twists themselves. He smiles fondly as Nagisa laughs through a fist full of popcorn at a joke Rei completely misses.

He doesn’t remember much of the plot, but he is pretty sure that is due to lazy writing and underdeveloped characters. He learns most of it anyway as Nagisa loudly recounts the film as they walk away from the theater.

They meet up at Makoto’s house for a sleepover after the movie. Rei has never been very skilled at console games, but he finds himself incredibly pleased to be crammed together with his friends on Mako’s bed. He ends up with a controller in his hands, and too soon he realizes that things are not going his way.

Racing games are decidedly not beautiful.

Nagisa is clinging to Rin, still so happy to have everyone together on good terms. And Rei can’t blame him for that, but he wonders if maybe Nagisa’s cheering isn’t some kind of good luck charm for Rin, who is completely wiping the floor with the rest of them. By the third lap, Haru is a close second while Rei, frustrated that the laws of physics seem to have been liberally interpreted for this game, is trailing the end of the line of a half dozen cars.

There’s shuffling from behind and Nagisa urges, “Move over, Mako-chan!” Suddenly Nagisa’s hands are clamped on Rei’s shoulders. “Keep in tight on the curve, Rei-chan.” The voice is barely audible, but Rei still flinches at the proximity and nearly loses control of his stupid car. “You got this, you got this,” Nagisa pats his shoulders. “Let off the accelerator as you go through here, but gun it right at the end-” Rei follows these instructions and is rewarded with a loud “YEAH!!” in his ear as he overtakes the vehicle that had been in front of him. “Okay, okay,” Nagisa is no longer bothering to whisper. “You’ve got four laps left after this one, just listen close.”

On the final lap he has miraculously moved into third place. Rin crosses the finish line 30 seconds before all the other cars. Rei takes third in the end but for a moment there he’d been neck and neck with Haru. Rei is satisfied with this result, but Nagisa is elated. He throws his arms around Rei’s neck from behind and nearly strangles him with a hug. “N-nagisa-kun!” Rei chokes. Laughing, Nagisa loosens his hold but he doesn’t let go, just takes the controller from Rei’s hands and plays his turn draped as he is.

They give up the game with just enough time left for a movie, everyone surrendering to Rin’s prowess. As they’re at Makoto’s house horror films are forbidden, but this doesn’t stop Nagisa from spending the entire movie pressed close to Rei. His arm is tucked under Rei’s in such a way that each breath makes him overly conscious of the contact, but Rei does his best not think about it.

Rei doesn’t always sleep well when away from home, but he sleeps next to Nagisa and there is the standard amount of sleep-cuddling so he wakes feeling refreshed. As they are all getting ready to return to their homes in the morning, he swears that Rin is giving him a strange look.

Rei doesn’t think about that either.

  
  
He gets so good at not thinking about it that he barely has to remind himself not to. He doesn’t think about it when he’s looking beyond foolish as he’s pulled through the school towards practice at the end of each day, and he certainly disregards it when Nagisa makes him try his juice at lunch because it tastes “soooo amazing”. He brushes it off as they all lay in the grass with Nagisa’s head on Rei’s lap, his eyes closed as he smiles with a face full of sun, his feet kicked up into Makoto’s lap. Rei tries to read the book that he brought with him, but ends up pretending to read as he stares at the beautiful way the sunlight plays on the highlights in Nagisa’s hair.

It’s not logical to dwell on such things. So he doesn’t.

  
It’s not until they meet up for a Sunday afternoon at the beach that Rei has to rethink his stance entirely.

It’s too cold to swim, but it’s still nice to be near the water. Nagisa has volunteered to get them all snacks from the vending machine, which Rei suspects is just so he can pick out the least healthy items without anyone interfering. Rei can see him considering the options with a finger pressed to his lips, taking his task very seriously.

He forces himself to return to the conversation at the table.

“It doesn’t matter who!” Kou says, playing it cool but everyone recognizes and fears the tone of her voice. “I just need one of you to round out the group!”

“Ahh,” Makoto rubs the back of his neck. “My parents are out of town so I have to take care of Ran and Ren, sorry…”

“Haruka.” She narrows her eyes and points at Haru, who raises an eyebrow slightly but simply says “No.” “You wouldn’t have to-” “No.” Haru reclines and stares out at the sea.

Kou makes a frustrated sound, and Rin laughs at her. “Better give it up,” he says with a wide smile. “You shouldn’t be going on a group date anyway, you should definitely stay home and study.” She glares at her brother, but recovers to make a sweet face before turning on Rei. “Rei, would you please join us Friday night?”

“Sorry, I’m not interested,” he says politely. His eyes wander back to Nagisa, who has filled his arms with bright colored packages and is shuffling them around so he can make another purchase.

“It will be fun!” Kou pleads, “there will be a couple of other girls from our school that are really sweet.”

“I’m not interested in any girls from our school,” Rei says absently. Nagisa appears to be defying physics, the packages somehow balancing against his chest as he drops a coin into the slot.

“There will be girls from other schools too!” Kou slides close to Rei on the bench. “Hana-chan’s cousin is bringing a couple of friends.”

Nagisa balances yet another package on the pile and Rei is astounded to see him checking his pockets for more coins. That’s clearly enough snacks, what is he trying to do?  “I’m not interested in any girls.” Nagisa buys one more snack, then nods in satisfaction and turns their way.

Rei doesn’t realize what he has said until Kou says “Oh. I’m...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”  Rei’s eyes go wide, shocked at the words that came out of his own mouth. He wonders if his face is as red as Kou’s. “It looks like Nagisa-kun could use a hand,” she says before dashing towards Nagisa and taking some of his burden.

Rei groans dramatically and buries his face in his hands. It wasn’t untrue, but he certainly had not planned to broadcast it!

“It’s okay, Rei,” Makoto says kindly. Rei looks up, finds comfort in his warm smile. Makoto exchanges a loaded look with Haru, “Haru isn’t interested in any girls either.” He nudges Haru with his shoulder, and Haru nods slightly. “And Nagisa is interested in everyone, so-”

“Nagisa,” Rin cuts in, “is only interested in Ryugazaki.” He winks and points a finger at Rei, who chokes on his breath.

“Um,” Kou says softly, she and Nagisa having arrived with the worlds most awkward timing. Nagisa gives a nervous laugh, and puts the snacks on the table as he glances at Rei, so perfect and charming that Rei bursts out in a ridiculous boisterous laugh at the very thought of Nagisa being romantically interested in him. “Don’t be ridiculous!” he says, catching his breath.

After a few seconds Nagisa’s face crumples and he takes off, running up the path back by the vending machines and out of site.

The echo of Rin’s words hit Rei with a sudden gut wrenching impact and he suspects that maybe he should have been thinking about things a lot harder than he had been all this time. “Nagisa-kun…” he whispers, staring dumbly at the path.

He turns back to his friends when he hears Rin cry out, looks in time to see Kou’s hand retreating from having smacked her brother. “Was that seriously a secret or something? What the hell??” Rin rubs the back of his head. “Rin…” Makoto says softly, but Rei is on his feet mumbling “Please excuse me” and walking quickly in the direction Nagisa had gone. He’s at a run before he’s rounded the building.

Rei finds Nagisa crouched in a ball against the side of a closed shop a few blocks away, violently sobbing into his knees.

He sits down beside Nagisa on the cement, never as unsure about anything as he is right this moment. “Nagisa-kun-” he’s cut off by a coughing sob. Rei has never been one to back away from things, but this is… This is disastrous. He places a hand gently on Nagisa’s back, wincing a bit at the way Nagisa stiffens at the contact. “It’s...it’s okay, Nagisa, it-”

“Sure,” Nagisa says through a voice thick with tears. “It’s ok.” He pulls his head up and glares at the brick planter across from them “It’s not like my actual worst nightmare just happened or anything!!” Nagisa buries his head in his knees again, drawing his body in tight as he continues to cry.

Rei removes his hand from Nagisa’s back, stunned and completely unable to think of the right thing to say. He usually has so many words - why won’t any of them come to his aid now? Before he thinks of anything, Nagisa mumbles, “It’s not like the person who means the most to me is never going to want to talk to me again.” He sniffles.

“I-” Rei is a bit stunned as the weight of what Nagisa said hits him. “I’m talking to you, I’m not-” He clears his throat and looks at his friend.

Nagisa shudders. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Rei rests his arms on his knees and lets his head fall back against the wall as his mind struggles to piece together exactly what Nagisa needs to hear, hopes that simply being near him is doing at least some good.

The sound of footsteps fast approaching makes him turn his head, and he sees Rin run around the corner and then halt. His mouth twists as he surveys the scene, and he rubs a hand over his face as he begins his approach.

“Rei-” Rin stands in front of them. “I need to talk to Nagisa.”

Rei looks at Nagisa, who is still hiding his sniffling face, and sighs. He considers refusing but takes Rin’s offered hand and stands, hoping he’s not making a mistake. If he doesn’t fix this...

Rin slides into the spot Rei vacated, and pulls Nagisa into a rough hug so easily that Rei burns with envy. He walks away to the sound of Rin’s earnest apologies.

He finally really thinks about it, as he walks, all of it. About everything he’s been not thinking about for the last few months. He thinks about it a lot. About how much it means to have Nagisa by his side, and how unbearable the thought of him not being there is. Of that day that last month when Nagisa had stayed home with an upset stomach and everything had felt so empty and lifeless. And about the way his face heats up when Nagisa praises him, and the warm weight of him against Rei’s body on the swaying train ride home. He thinks about Nagisa’s face beaming when presented with surprise cream bread and of that specific laugh he has when he comes up with a horrifying suggestion. And then he remembers Nagisa’s face crying and thinks it might be the worst thing on the planet.

His heart suddenly feels like it is crushing itself, and his feet fail to move another step. This is all his fault, he realizes in a rush. He laughed. Rin said Nagisa liked him and Rei. Laughed. And never said it was okay or that he liked Nagisa as well. Because he does, it’s obvious, he really, really likes Nagisa. Rei has never thought of himself as an idiot, but now he curses himself with the name for certain.

He sucks in a breath and closes his eyes. He can fix this. It’s not … no, it’s pretty bad. Why hadn’t he said something when he was sitting there?! Idiot!

He spins in a mad circle and sees another vending machine, full of the sorts of things he would normally scold Nagisa for shoving into his face. It takes no time to spot one of Nagisa’s favorite cakes and coins fall to the ground as Rei empties his pockets to buy a package. He clutches it in his hand, a sugary nutrient void olive branch, and walks back to Nagisa with twice the speed with which he’d left.

He’s not quite running when he arrives, but it’s a near thing. He hears Rin’s voice say “I mean, have you seen the way he looks at you? It’s gross, he obviously-” when two heads turn quickly upon noticing his arrival.

“Nagisa-kun, may I have a word?” Rei tries for calm and refined but knows his voice probably gives away how upset he is. Rin smirks a little at Rei’s dishevelled state and at the junk food in his hand, but he nudges Nagisa with his shoulder before standing and giving them space.

Rei takes Rin’s place at Nagisa’s side, the pavement still warm from where Rin was sitting. The biggest problem with not thinking about this for so long, he realizes, is that he didn’t have time to strategize - doesn’t know how to say the things that he’s feeling. He isn’t even completely sure what this is that he’s feeling.

He hands Nagisa the cake without looking at him. Nagisa takes it and says “thanks” barely audibly, but the crinkling of packaging tells Rei his offering is accepted. They sit in silence together as Nagisa heals his soul with sugar and Rei tries to figure out exactly what he needs to say.

“I shouldn’t have laughed,” he says as Nagisa finishes off the cake. He figures that’s a good place to start. It’s the one thing he is completely certain of. He glances sideways and sees that Nagisa is giving him a curious look. “I apologize, for laughing. It just took me by surprise is all.”

Nagisa’s arms are folded across his knees, his head resting on them and his watery gaze focused on Rei. But he’s not talking, and Rei doesn’t know what to do with that, so he keeps going with what he knows. “For a very long time I’ve…” he frowns at the pavement. How long has he liked Nagisa? He doesn’t even know, how long he’s been ignoring the signs and portents, how long he was willfully ignoring every important clue. “I really like you, Nagisa-kun.” He sees Nagisa’s eye’s fly wide open. “I laughed because-” this was so hard to explain, he didn’t have any data to back any of it up, just weird feelings and reactions he didn’t expect himself to make. “I guess because I never really let myself think about how much I like you, so I certainly hadn’t thought about you liking me. It was a little shocking.” He turns to look at Nagisa, who is biting his lower lip but a smile is creeping on his face. “Please forgive me for hurting you, I never meant to-” he is cut off by Nagisa’s quick movement, a hug that throws him slightly off balance so he has to throw a hand out to support them. His other hand he puts on Nagisa’s back as Nagisa squeezes him intensely.

“Rei-chan,” Nagisa’s voice sounds happy and sad at the same time and it kind of breaks Rei’s heart a little bit more. “You really like me?”

“Of course.” The giggle he wins from Nagisa makes his heart unclench a bit. When Nagisa pulls back and smiles so wide his tear stained eyes are forced closed, it unclenches a lot.

When Nagisa leans in and kisses him, Rei’s heart completely explodes.

As they walk back to the clearing to rejoin their friends, Rei thinks about how perfectly Nagisa’s hand fits in his. He thinks about how much he enjoys the sound of Nagisa’s voice, even if he is just comparing different varieties of cake. He blushes a little as he remembers the feeling of Nagisa’s lips against his, and blushes quite a bit as he imagines kissing him again. As many times as possible. Under every imaginable circumstance.

It becomes something he thinks about a lot.

**Author's Note:**

> sleepover scene obvs inspired by [this bit of official art](http://i.imgur.com/4ljLP45.jpg) (and the rest of the fic by every other piece of official art ever probably tbh)
> 
> ~~sincere apologies for using Styx lyrics that contain a misleading pun as a title~~
> 
> [tumbl with me](http://misomackerel.tumblr.com/)


End file.
